


In From The Rain

by Tuxedo_Elf



Category: DCU (Comics), Red Robin (Comics), Superboy (Comics)
Genre: Community: comment_fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-19
Updated: 2015-04-08
Packaged: 2018-03-18 16:16:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3575808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tuxedo_Elf/pseuds/Tuxedo_Elf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A mission gone slightly wrong, a storm - Red Robin is having a bad day.  (Will have 3 chapters.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Based on a comment fic prompt, but I've forgotten who it's for. First time writing this pairing. :)

 

In From The Rain

_Stand there like a ghost shaking from the rain (rain).  
[He'll] open up the door and say "Are you insane ('ane)?" _

 

If this day got any worse, he was actually going to scream. It had started well enough, just a simple bust of illegal arms traffickers. He'd done his research, he always did. There had been nothing to suggest it was going to go this badly. Clearly, the helicopter had been a last-minute addition to their plans, but still, he should have been able to handle that. Well, he had handled it. If by 'handling' you mean crashing. Still, no one had died, that was something. And he'd activated the helicopters emergency beacon so that the dealers would end up in jail rather than a morgue. 

If only he'd had the presence of mind to give himself the same consideration. He'd had to leave, being found there probably wouldn't have ended well for him. Although, the day wasn't looking like it was ending well in any case. 

Problem one, was that every single piece of technology in his suit was currently not working. That wasn't even supposed to be possible after all the protections and precautions he'd put in place! Apparently, helicopter crashes were harder on his tech than he'd anticipated. 

Problem two was he'd been hidden away in the helicopter for around an hour after it took off and with his computer offline, he had NO idea where he was. An hour from where he'd started in a helicopter of that speed had any number of possibilities. One thing was blatantly, screamingly obvious. He was in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing but wide open space as far as the eye could see. No rooftops, no way of speeding his journey up. Nothing to do but pick a direction and walk. 

And it was raining. Of course. Not light rain, no that might have been mildly pleasant. Torrential, pouring rain that seeped into everything. His suit was insulated, but even that had his limits and after nearly two hours of walking in it, those limits had been well and truly reached. 

Finally, nearly three hours into his trek, he saw a signpost. Wiping the water out of the mask lenses, he peered up at it. 'Smallville 8 miles.' His tired, rainsoaked mind slowly made the connection. Smallville. Kent. Eight miles. He could do that. Ignoring the rain soaking through the top of his cowl, he started walking again, more determined now that he had a destination. Clark was almost certainly in Metropolis and Conner, unfortunately, was at Titans Tower, but Ma Kent would be in and she wouldn't bat an eyelid at a sodden, costumed, teenager. And there would almost certainly be pie. 

He was halfway there when he realised the world wasn't finished with him yet. In order to get to to the farm unseen, he'd have to go the long way round. Another two miles at least. He stopped, closing his eyes and groaned. “Pie,” he muttered as he trudged on. 

Xxxxxxxxxx

By the time he reached the path to the house, he was shivering from cold and the unrelenting rain. Still, there were lights on inside and oh, was that smoke coming from the chimney? A fire, how completely glorious. Teeth chattering from the cold, soaked cape wrapped around him, he raised his hand to knock. 

Before he could, the door was pulled open and instead of Ma Kent, he was greeted with an unexpected and most incredibly welcome sight. “C...Conner?” 

“Tim?!” He gaped at the shivering, half-drowned hero for a second before pulling him inside. He'd heard someone approaching, but Tim hadn't entered his mind, his friend was usually almost silent. This bedraggled, miserable-looking creature was a world away from Tim's usual self. “Are you insane? You shouldn't be out there on a night like this!” 

“T-tell me s-something I don't k-know, Kon...” Tim snapped through teeth that just wouldn't stop chattering. 

“Sorry...” Conner replied apologetically. 

“Oh, you poor dear!” Ma Kent appeared at his side, clutching an armful of towels and blankets. “Conner, go run a bath, there's a good boy...”

Tim chuckled through his shivers as Conner did as told without a word. An over-sized towel was wrapped around his shoulders and he smiled gratefully, pushing the sodden cowl back. Ma knew who he was, he was pretty sure she knew who most of them were. “T-thanks...” He watched, trying not to drip all over the floor as Ma hurried off to make a hot drink – he didn't know what, nor did he care. Better to dry off as much as he could before moving.

“Hey... bath's ready.” Conner reappeared a few minutes later, much to Tim's relief. 

“Thanks...” He shifted the towel around his shoulders, holding it there until he was next to the bath. 

“Well... I'll be in there... um, warm up okay?” Conner smiled, looking slightly uneasy, before leaving and closing the door behind him. 

As soon as he was gone, Tim peeled off his gloves, his hands numb from cold. Hands shaking, he reached up to unclasp his cape, swearing softly as he fumbled and struggled, his fingers red by the time he finally unclasped it. “Damn,” he muttered irritably, eyeing the rest of the clothes that stuck to his sodden skin. The way today was going the water would be cold by the time he got in. 

All of a sudden, hands rested on his shoulders, making to ease the tunic off. “What... Kon? What are you doing?” 

“Helping,” Kon said quietly, not meeting Tim's eyes. “You seemed to be having trouble.”

Tim frowned. “Conner Kent, did you just use x-ray vision to see that I needed help?” He said accusingly. 

Conner sighed. “No Tim, I used super hearing to catch you swearing.”

“Oh.” Well, there wasn't much he could say to that. “Um... I'm okay, really...”

There was a small snort. “Of course. You can't feel your fingers and you look like a drowned rat... but you're okay. Sure.” 

“A rat? Wow, thanks.” Apparently, the long day had left him irritable. 

“Come on Tim, you know what I mean... um... that is... a cute drowned rat?” He half regretted it the moment he said it.

Tim raised an eyebrow.

“Just let me help, Tim.” 

Tim sighed, but nodded and let Conner assist him with his clothes. He couldn't help but relax as strong hands peeled the tunic away, gentle fingers touching the clammy skin of his chest. Somewhere at the back of his mind he dimly registered that Kon could do this much, much faster. Only – he wasn't. 

The hands moved to pull off his boots, then moved up... 

“Just the belt!” He gasped suddenly, face as red as his costume. “I... I can do the rest...” 

“Oh... sure...” Conner's hands came close... too close... to unclasp the belt before he moved away. “I'll.. leave you to it then...” 

“Thanks...” Suddenly his face felt warm if nothing else. Well, almost nothing else. “Why me?” he muttered, waiting until Conner left before finally getting out of the rest of his clothes and sinking into the blissfully hot bath. What a day. But he was here now – after the bath he'd call Bruce and and have some pie, then sleep for hours and not think about Conner helping him. 

Xxxxxxxxx

“What was he doing out there?” Conner almost growled as he waited for Tim to finish his bath. “Why didn't he call me? He's human!”

“I'd not let him hear you say that,” Ma cautioned, popping the pie in the oven to warm. “Clark always said he thought that lot were a bit more than the rest of us.” 

“He would.” Conner huffed. “Damn it. Why didn't I hear anything? He was that close, I should have.”

“You can't be listening all the time,” Ma soothed. “You were at home and relaxed. He's here now, that's what matters.” 

He sighed, leaning against the wall and trying not to look through it. “Yeah, I suppose it is...” 

Ma chuckled, taking the plates out. “He's such a nice boy. When are you going to tell him?” 

Conner froze, eyes wide. “What do you mean? Tell him what?” 

A tut, as the plates clattered to the table a little harder than they should have. “Conner Kent, don't you dare insult my intelligence. You know perfectly well what I mean.” 

“I...” Words suddenly failed him. “I'm not, I just... um... don't you... mind?” He winced as soon as he said it, knowing he'd provoked her hard-to-provoke ire.

“And why would I?”

“Um...” he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I guess... I thought you might... um... be old-fashioned?” He stopped talking uncertainly. 

She paused, checking on the pie, before shaking her head and turning back to him, her ire fading as quickly as it had appeared. “Well, fair enough. Perhaps there was a time I might have found some things odd or even objectionable.” Ma smiled. “But then I pulled a live alien baby from a crashed spaceship. That sort of thing tends to alter your perspectives. Makes you see things differently.” She placed a hand on his arm. “And all of us know that life is short and not for wasting worrying about what other people think.”

“Thanks Ma...” He smiled. “You're not just anyone but.. thanks. You're right. I guess I'm just nervous of change.” He looked over at the direction Tim had gone in. “And worried that he won't... what what I do.”

Ma laughed then, clearly amused. “I've seen my fair share of teenage boys. Trust me. He wants what you do.”

Conner turned red. “Well... when I see him next... maybe I'll manage to say something.”

As if on cue, there was the sound of bare feet in the hallway and then – oh gods – Tim appeared, trying to avoid Ma as he stood there with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. “I um... you got any clothes I can borrow?”

Trying very, very hard not to stare, Conner nodded. “Let me just um... find something. Err, don't move.” He pretended not to hear Ma's quiet laugh as he rushed away. He could try talking again later.

 

xxxxxxxx


	2. Chapter Two

In From The Rain – Chapter 2

xxxxxxx

Tim had stayed in the bath for as long as seemed polite, letting the hot water chase away the chill from the rain. It had been an effort to finally drag himself out of the water, but he didn't like to overstay his welcome. Drying off, he realised suddenly that he had nothing to wear. He went to call out, but shouting about his predicament seemed worse than just wrapping a towel around his waist and going to ask for something. 

Moments later he was not only regretting the decision, but blushing at Kon's attempt not to look – strange given as they'd changed together many times – and standing awkwardly in the hallway. It was a relief when Kon returned barely three seconds later, shoving some clothes into his arms. 

“Smallest stuff I've got, guest room is down there on the right,” he said in a rush. 

“Thanks...” he replied in bemusement, watching Kon vanish before letting himself into the guest room to change. He still felt uneasy as he went back to the kitchen – now dressed in a far-too-big t-shirt and sweatpants that thankfully had a drawstring. If they hadn't – well, the towel would have been more modest. 

He only hoped he wouldn't blush over what had happened in the bathroom. Kon's hands, that close... he shivered with the memory. His feelings for Kon had always been complicated even before he'd died and come back. He'd always been drawn to him, comfortable and relaxed around him. Well, almost always. He smiled as he remembered their first meeting, that nearly disastrous battle with Poison Ivy. Time and experience had changed them both though. They had gone from uneasy allies to the best of friends and Tim hated himself for it not being enough. For wanting more. When Kon was with Cassie and he was with Steph it had been easier to ignore it, but now... well, ignoring it was becoming nearly impossible. 

“Hey...” he smiled as he stepped into the kitchen, seeing Kon sitting at the table as Ma cut the pie. 

“Hey yourself... you okay? What happened anyway?” Kon said, looking in concern at Tim, not even bothering to try and hide it, despite many previous shows of concern resulting in Tim becoming defensive and irritable.

Tim sighed, too tired to be annoyed, and took a mouthful of pie. He savoured it quietly it before explaining about the crash, ALL his tech cutting out and the resulting long, wet walk. 

“Oh, you poor thing!” Ma shook her head as she pushed a large mug of hot chocolate towards him. “You drink that and help yourself to pie, I'll get your things in the wash.” 

“Oh... thanks...” he hesitated, wanting to tell her that is was fine, they'd dry out and would be wearable, but this was Superman's mother and he'd no sooner suggest such a thing to her than to Alfred. 

So he could only watch as she hurried off with suspicious speed, leaving the two of them alone in the room. Sipping his hot chocolate, he became increasingly aware of Kon watching his every move. 

“You know... you really should have just yelled. I'd have come and got you.”

Tim stared into the mug. “I thought you were at the Tower.” 

“I'd still have heard you, Tim. Even if I'd been on the other side of the world. You must know that.” 

“You didn't hear me fifty yards outside your door,” Tim teased, trying to divert attention from Kon's last statement. It wasn't the first time he'd said something like that and it affected him more than he cared to admit. 

“Well you were doing your silent ninja thing,” Kon chuckled, more than a little embarrassed about it. “But if you'd have called...” 

Tim nodded. “Wasn't thinking. Sorry.” Except about Kon, of course. 

“That must be a first... you not thinking,” Conner smirked, taking another bite of pie. 

Tim rolled his eyes, though not so much that he couldn't watch the slow, careful way in which Conner chewed the pie. It really wasn't right to be jealous of a dessert. “You're funny.”

“I try,” Kon teased, though his smile faltered. “Tim...”

Something in his tone made Tim shiver and he almost blushed as he realised that there was no way Kon wouldn't notice.

“You okay?” Kon asked, his voice soft, concerned. 

“Yeah... yeah. I'm just... still a bit cold, you know?” He forced a smile. “I should probably go to bed.” He winced as soon as he'd said it. “I mean... you're not gonna fly me back to Gotham tonight, right?”

“In that weather? No chance. Besides, Ma's got your clothes.” Kon grinned. Outside the rain was still pouring heavily, battering the roof and windows. “Good night for staying in... keeping warm.” 

“Right...” Suddenly the pie tasted like ash in his mouth – not that he'd ever say that to Ma Kent. “I'll just... go then...” he stood, feeling flustered. “I'm... really tired.” 

Kon stood too, and stepped over to stand right in front of Tim. “Goodnight...” he said reluctantly and Tim could see him fighting with something.

Tim's breath caught. He was so close, the temptation was almost unbearable. It would be so easy and the way Kon was looking at him – he wasn't imagining it, was he? But a moment of panic seized him, leading him to a moment he'd probably spend the rest of his life beating himself up for.

He smiled, the brightest, most insincere grin he'd ever mustered and flung it in Kon's entirely too handsome face. “Goodnight! See you in the uh, morning!" 

Face flushed and cringing at the perky, high-pitched tone, he turned and hurried away as fast as seemed polite. Possibly a little faster. Closing the bedroom door behind him, he tried not to let out a sigh, because really, now that Kon was listening, he'd hear everything. Super hearing be damned. 

Lying down on the bed, he closed his eyes. He wasn't blind, or stupid. The way Kon had looked at him tonight, it was the way he'd wanted him to look for... Months? Maybe even years. But there had never been any hint of it before, at least, not that he'd noticed. Was it new? Or had Kon just been hiding it, as he had? So many questions, sometimes he hated his habit of over-analysing everything. Because really, did it actually matter? The only question that really held any weight was to act on it or not? 

He wanted to. God, he wanted to so much. But his brain was forever supplying worst case scenarios and what ifs. They made him nervous, hesitant. It could all go so horribly wrong. Although... It could also go incredibly right. He groaned and threw his arm over his face. Maybe he'd see how Kon was in the morning. 

Xxxxxx

Back in the kitchen, Conner cursed himself for not taking the opportunity when he had the chance. He was such an idiot. Tim had probably locked himself in the room by now, knowing Conner would never force his way in. 

He sat down again, listening. He could hear Ma doing the laundry, being very definitely not here, though she was tutting, as if she somehow knew that he was hesitating. He could hear the rain that seemed relentless. And even though he tried not to, he could hear Tim as he groaned in frustration. 

“Gah!” He cried out, his own frustration matching that of Tim's. This was ridiculous. They were clearly attracted to each other, so why the dancing around? Because if it all goes wrong, you'll have lost him completely. The voice in his mind seemed so sure of that and he supposed it was the one he'd been listening to. But... he wasn't sure he wanted to any more. He'd already died, already learned the hard way that even those with powers could fall. Life was short. “To hell with it,” he said out loud to nobody in particular. 

Before he could change his mind, he gathered his courage and went to the door, knocking firmly, despite feeling like he was going into battle. “Tim? Can I come in?”

Already buried under the covers,Tim jumped when the knock came, about to try and sleep and forget that Kon was right there and had been staring at him since he arrived. Or at least, since he walked into the kitchen in nothing but a towel. 

“Of course,” he replied, sitting up and pushing the covers aside. He really should apologise for the awful way he'd rushed off if nothing else. Unless he finally found the guts to do something else. 

Kon stepped in, looking more uncomfortable and uneasy than he'd ever seen him.“Sorry to barge in, I just, I... I mean, that is...” Kon ran his hand through his hair, trying to find the words. 

“Kon?” Tim managed a smile. “It's okay, just... you can tell me anything, you know that...” Well, there were a few things he didn't want to hear from Kon, but it was hardly the time to be pedantic. If Kon had a problem, he would always try to find a way to make things better.

“Right...” Kon nodded. “So I... I wanted to tell... no, ask, I just... I wondered if, I... oh fuck it!” He threw his hands up in an overly-dramatic gesture of annoyance. 

Tim's eyes widened, but before he had chance to comment on the curse, or ask how he could help, Kon had pulled him closer and pressed their lips together in a sudden, completely unexpected and incredibly sweet kiss. 

Well, okay. That worked.

END CHAPTER TWO


End file.
